


I Don't Want to Like You, but I Do

by MissMR



Series: Let Me Paint Your Skin [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angry Bellamy, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes Friendship, F/M, Fluff, Lincoln and Clarke are friends, Tattoo Artist Clarke Griffin, a bit of Lincoln, well as fluffy as I will write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 10:53:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21178220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMR/pseuds/MissMR
Summary: Clarke considers herself somewhat of a professional. She always makes sure the client signs the correct forms, she checks IDs, she makes sure the design is what the client wants, and while she tattoos them, she is constantly making sure the client is comfortable—well as comfortable as someone can be with a needle piercing their skin. So, she doesn’t understand why a man with unruly curly hair is yelling at her.“She’s 17, and you tattooed her!” he shouted. “What kind of place is this? You tattooed a minor! I can call someone and shut this place down.”Clarke clears her throat, trying to ignore the fact she thinks the man standing on the other side of the counter is hot, more like sexy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t tattoo any minor.”“Really?” he snickered. “Because did you or did you not tattoo my sister?” He took a step to the side to gestured to the girl, and Clarke instantly remembered her from yesterday.The girl smiled sheepishly at Clarke. “I did tattoo her, but I also checked her ID which showed she was nineteen.”(or, the one where Clarke gets yelled at by Bellamy for tattooing his minor sister.)





	I Don't Want to Like You, but I Do

Clarke has been a tattoo artist for Lincoln for three years now. She was grateful that he chose to take her under his wing and even more grateful for the day they both got stuck in an elevator together for an hour with nothing to do but to talk. It’s where they shared pictures of each other’s art. Clarke had mention she had no idea what she was going to be doing once she graduated, and Lincoln said he was always looking for artists to work at his shop. So, when graduation came around, she took Lincoln up on his offer and started an apprenticeship at Ton DC under him. It took her a year and a half for her to become an official tattoo artist at the same shop, and she has loved every minute of it.

She loved creating art and loved it even more when she designed something specifically for someone and saw the smile on their faces once they saw it on their body. Her station was decorated with pictures of tattoos she’s done. She valued her work, even if her mom didn’t. Tattooing made her happy, and she actually liked going to work. Not only because she enjoys it but because Clarke knew she was good at what she did—she did learn from the best after all.

So, with a few years of experience, Clarke considers herself somewhat of a professional. She always makes sure the client signs the correct forms, she checks IDs, she makes sure the design is a 100% what the client wants, and while she tattoos them, she is constantly making sure the client is comfortable—well as comfortable as someone can be with a needle piercing their skin. So, she doesn’t understand why a man with unruly curly hair is yelling at her. 

“She’s 17, and you tattooed her!” he shouted, and Clarke saw someone cower behind the man. “What kind of place is this? You tattooed a minor! I can call someone and shut this place down.”

Clarke clears her throat, trying to ignore the fact she thinks the man standing on the other side of the counter is hot, more like sexy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I didn’t tattoo any minor.”

“Really?” he snickered. “Because did you or did you not tattoo my sister?” He took a step to the side to gestured to the girl, and Clarke instantly remembered her from yesterday. The girl had hovered over Clarke’s shoulder as she sketched out a swarm of butterflies, but when the tattoo was done, Clarke loved it. It was easily one of her favorite tattoos she had done. The vibrancy of the blue looked like it was glowing. It matched the girl’s face when she looked at it in the mirror.

The girl smiled sheepishly at Clarke. “I did tattoo her, but I also checked her ID which showed she was nineteen.”

The man huffed. “So, you can’t tell the difference between a fake and real one.”

Whether Clarke thought he was good looking or not, he was being an ass. “I did my damn job! She showed me an ID with her picture and a birthdate putting her at 19.”

“You did your job?! I’ll repeat myself. You. Tattooed. A. Minor. Seriously, what kind of place is this?!” He voiced echoed through the small tattoo shop. Thank god it was midday, and the shop was empty. However, the man’s voice did draw out Lincoln from the back.

“Is there a problem here?” Lincoln asked calmly.

“Is there a problem?” the man scoffed. “Of course, there’s a damn problem. This moron tattooed a minor.” He pointed at Clarke. Yeah, Clarke no longer had to ignore his attraction to him. Before Clarke could lash back, Lincoln spoke up.

“I understand you’re upset, but you will not speak to my employees like that. Now, there must be a misunderstanding.” The stillness of Lincoln’s voice was something that always shocked Clarke. He was always so level-headed when dealing with anything remotely unpleasant while Clarke already wanted to rip the man’s head off.

“If you don’t mind,” Lincoln spoke to the girl standing behind the man, “may I see the ID you used when you came in to get the tattoo.”

Clarke hadn’t missed the way the girl’s eyes hadn’t left Lincoln. It was the same way she stared at Lincoln yesterday when she was in getting her tattoo. Clarke couldn’t blame the girl because she knew Lincoln was good looking. If Clarke didn’t see him kind of like her own brother, she would have tried something on him. But it was too weird to even think about going down that road.

“Okay, okay. I lied.” The girl stepped forward. “I used a fake, Bell,” she looked at the man. “Jasper and I got them a couple of weeks ago. But I don’t see what the big deal is.” Her eyes roamed between the three of them. “I turn eighteen in two months the tattoo was going to happen regardless.” She shrugged. “I just sped up the process.”

“O! I,” he shook his head and looked between Clarke and Lincoln, “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, well maybe you should have found out the truth before coming in here and yelling at me. Like, I said. I was doing my job.” Clarke leaned on the counter before pushing herself off. “Now, I’m going to get back to work.” She looked at the girl, “And remember to apply the ointment a few times a day for the next week or so. And don’t scratch it.” A part of Clarke wanted to yell at her, but it would be a bit hypocritical of her considering Clarke also got her first tattoo at seventeen too. It was a paint palette with a spot of blue, green, purple, and pink paint behind her right ear. It hurt like a bitch, and she instantly regretted choosing the spot as soon as she felt the vibration the tattoo machine sent through her head. Nevertheless, Clarke grinned at the girl and walked away.

“I really am sorry,” the man called out from behind her, but she waved him off not bothering to look back. At least she’d never have to see him again.

*

That night when Lincoln asked if she could stay until closing because no one else could, she was more than willing to. She liked being at the tattoo shop. It was better than being back at the apartment. Because now that Raven and Wells were dating, she sometimes felt like an awkward third wheel around them. She loved them both, but it was time to find a new place to live to let them enjoy living alone together as a couple.

Clarke was hunched over her station sketching something she had been working on for herself. It was a griffin with its wings spread with a long tail that curls up at the end. As soon as it was done, Lincoln said he'd be happy to tattoo it on her. She didn't tell him she was ready to beg him to because there was no way she was trusting someone else to. Clarke wasn’t sure where she would put it. Maybe on her ribs. She had been avoiding the area because she had seen enough people wince as she tattooed that spot, but she couldn’t stop picturing how the movement of the griffin would fit perfectly along the curves of her body.

Clarke had a way of immersing herself into her work where the outside world disappeared. It's how she usually was when she was sketching. She only turned around when the door buzzed as someone entered the shop and Lincoln said, “Look who’s back.” Clarke craned her neck to look over the half-wall that separated the nooks, and there the man was with his dark curly hair and his brighter than life eyes. She hated, that even after earlier when he basically told her she wasn't capable of doing her job, she still found him attractive because he was an asshole, but when a person is good looking, she recognized it. And this damn man was hot.

She shook her head and turned back to her stretch. “I’m not dealing with him,” she mumbled and heard Lincoln’s footsteps as he walked away. She tried to ignore the conversation, but it was happening less than ten feet away from her. The tattoo shop was small so voices traveled. 

“What can I do for you today?” She heard Lincoln ask.

“Yeah, I was wondering if I can talk to the person I kind of yelled at.”

She muttered a silent “fuck” under her breath as Lincoln called out her name. She pushed herself up from her chair and sauntered over to the front counter.

“Here to yell at me again.” She knew it was a snide remark, but she couldn’t help herself.

The man winced. “I do owe you an apology.” He looked at Lincoln, and in turn, Lincoln looked at Clarke.

“I’ll give you guys a minute.” Lincoln focused on Clarke. “I’ll be in the back. Call out if you need me.” Clarke nodded at him.

The man waited until Lincoln was out of earshot to speak. “I really am sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I saw a tattoo that took up the majority of my seventeen-year-old sister’s shoulder, and I flipped.”

Clarke sighed heavily. “Look, it’s whatever. You aren’t the first person to come in here and yell at me, and you definitely won’t be the last. But you are the first one to actually come in and apologize, so thank you for that. But if that’s all, I really do have to get back,” she said as she took a step away from the counter.

“That’s it?” He squinted. “I thought maybe,” he ran his hand down his face. “I don’t know. Maybe we could—” The door buzzed, making him stop.

“Just the person I was looking for. I brought take-out,” Raven said holding up a bag. The man turned around, and Raven’s eyes studied him. “I know you from somewhere, don’t I?” The man rubbed the back of his neck again, and Raven snapped her fingers. “Oh shit,” she looked at Clarke, “this is the dude I slept with right after the Finn drama.” Clarke stole a glance at the man and saw his cheeks slightly flush red. “I don’t remember your name though,” Raven said this time to the man.

“It’s Bellamy.”

Raven laughed. “Bellamy, right. I remember now. Anyways,” she turned her attention back to Clarke, “I brought us food. I figured we’d have dinner here since you texted you’d be closing.”

“Sounds good. Now, if there isn’t anything else I can do for you,” she spoke to Bellamy. She liked the name. She hadn’t heard anything like it before just like she’s never seen anyone like him before. He was gorgeous. “I’m going to,” she uses her left thumb to gesture behind her, and Raven took that as a signal to walk towards the table near the back.

“Wait!” he said a little too loud. “I mean I, I, I want a tattoo.”

“Well, I can get Lincoln to come consult with you.” Again, Clarke tried to walk away, but Bellamy stopped her.

“I’d really like if you did it. I really liked O’s tattoo after I stopped being mad about it. You’re good.” He smirked at her, and Clarke had to look away. She thought he was handsome with a scowl on his face, but when his lips curved up ever so slightly, she damn near lost it.

However, she needed to get out of this. She couldn’t be around him. Maybe a moment ago she would have agreed before she knew he had slept with Raven. She and Raven had slept with the same guy once, and it started problems. There was a lot of yelling, and fists might have gotten involved had Lincoln not been around to talk some sense into them.

“If you really want one, Lincoln is way better than me.”

“Yeah, but I’d really like you to do it.”

“I’m busy right now.”

“What if I come back?”

Clarke sighed. “Why do I have a feeling you aren’t going to give up?”

He laughed half-heartedly, and Clarke felt a smile pulling on her lips. “I can be pretty persistent.”

Clarke didn’t respond. She reached for the appointment book below the counter and began flipping through pages. “If you’re serious, I have an opening on Monday at two.” When she looked up, he was already staring at her.

He blinked before shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”

“Okay, I’ll put you down.” She reached for a pen and wrote the name Bellamy in the open spot.

“Great, so I’ll see you then.” He walked towards the door casting one last look at Clarke before walking out.

“Well, fucking hell. I think I just witnessed the beginning of something magical.” Raven leaned back in her chair with a knowing grin.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Clarke sat across from her grabbing a container of food.

Raven rolled her eyes. “Please. I felt sparks from here.” Clarke said nothing as she shoveled chow mein in her mouth. “You’re seeing him Monday. I say go for it.”

She swallowed. “It wouldn’t be weird considering the fact you slept with him?”

“It was a one time thing that happened years ago. Don’t let that stop you. He was into you, and you were into him.”

Clarke couldn’t argue with Raven about being into Bellamy because she was. She hadn’t forgotten about him being an ass, but he did come back to try to make it right. She knows nothing about him. Except for the fact that he slept with one of her best friends, that he was insanely good looking, and that he's a decent enough person to apologize when he's wrong because Clarke knows she probably wouldn't have. So, sue her, she's stubborn. Maybe she could get to know him.

*

When Monday came, all Clarke could think about was seeing Bellamy. Lincoln had told her he called yesterday to confirm his appointment, and Clarke hated to admit that it sent a warm flutter to her stomach. She felt nervous but in the way she typically felt before a first date. But it wasn’t a date. Clarke was going to be drilling into his skin with a needle. It was as far away as one could get from a date. She couldn’t let herself think about a potential date, even if Raven said it was fine.

Clarke has been single for roughly two years. She went on a few blind dates Wells set up, but they were all a waste of time. She thought Wells knew her well enough to know self-absorbed sexist assholes weren’t her type. After the third one, Clarke told him he was no longer allowed to arrange any type of dates for her. Raven offered, but Clarke refused. She was okay with being single. She liked being her own person and selfishly only having to think about her feelings. She worried too much about Lexa's and what she thought about every move Clarke made while they dated. The same with Finn. During both relationships, Clarke felt like she locked parts of her that neither one liked away. It took her a while to find the key, but once she did, she swore to never do it again. So, maybe a piece of her feared she would and that’s where the reluctance came from.

It was 1:50 when Clarke walked into the Ton DC, and she was surprised to see Bellamy already sitting in the corner. He bounced his leg as he rubbed his hands against his thigh, and he looked slightly pale.

Clarke tentatively stepped towards him and asked, “Are you okay?”

His head whipped in her direction, and a smile almost instantly spread across his lips. “Yeah. I’m just a little nervous.”

“Well, if you want to follow me back, we can get started.” He nodded at her and followed close behind to her work area. Clarke ignored the fact her body tingled with excitement from the warmth she felt from his body. It had been a while since she’s been touched.

She placed her tote bag in the corner and pulled up a chair for Bellamy. “So, what is it that you’re looking to get?” She thumbed through her sketchbook to a blank page. 

Bellamy doesn’t get a chance to answer because Lincoln knocked on the wall of her nook to get her attention. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt, but if you're finished with the griffin, I can do it today.”

“Really?" he nodded "I’m free right after this.”

“A griffin?” Bellamy questioned when Lincoln left.

“Yeah. It’s my last name.”

“Clarke Griffin.” He smiled. “I like it.”

She felt heat flood her cheeks, and she hoped her cheeks weren’t as tinted red as they felt. She shook her head trying to will the blush away. “So, tattoo.”

“Right, yeah. To be honest, I’m not sure.”

Clarke eyed him. “You do realize that this is going to be on your body forever, right?”

He ran his hands through his hair to push it back. “I never thought about getting a tattoo. I’m kind of scared of needles.”

Clarke didn’t mean to laugh to the point of snorting. She immediately threw her hands up to cover her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she said. A chuckle escaped. “But you do realize a needle is needed for a tattoo to happen.”

“Well, yeah. I just honestly thought I’d back out by now.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see you again.”

Clarke gaped at his words. She wasn’t sure how to react. It was crazy that he was willing to mark his body permanently just to see her, and at the same time, she thought it was incredibly…sweet? Romantic? Kind of crazy?

"You didn't think about just coming in and seeing me?"

"See," he squinted, "I tried to do that, but you insisted you were busy with work. This seemed like the only way I could talk to you." 

Clarke knew she couldn’t let him get a tattoo. Not today.

“How about this?” she closes her sketchbook. “You come back when you’ve had longer than a few days to think about getting a tattoo, and I’ll be the one to do it. In the meantime, I’m going to be getting one right now, and I don’t do well with pain and Lincoln refuses to talk while he works but talking distracts me. What do you say about sitting next to me for an hour or two and talking? We can get to know each other.”

“I’d like that, and if I’m going to keep up with this honesty thing, I don’t think I’m going to be changing my mind.”

*

Four years later he asked Clarke to give him his first tattoo. He gave her creative freedom to design whatever she wanted as long as it included something that alluded to Roman/Greek history and somehow included her and their five-month-old baby girl, Madi Blake Griffin. She was stumped for a few days because anything she thought of seemed to fall flat. It wasn’t until she saw him reading the _Iliad_ for the umpteenth time that she started to roll over an idea in her head. A day later she showed Bellamy a sketch of Achilles adorn in armor with a shield and sword. She had hidden her name in the shield, and Madi’s on the sword. When he asked why she said because she would go to the ends of the earth to protect him and Madi gave him strength. When he asked about Achilles, she told him because everyone has a weakness, and anyone who saw the way he looked at her and their daughter would know without a doubt that they were his. Clarke had to make sure he knew he and Madi were also hers.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
